Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 20 | Page 26

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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY October 16 - 31, 2018
Bel Canto (PG) ****
Song Bird!
By Alan Samuel
Sing for your supper takes on a whole new meaning in Bel Canto. Brought to the
screen by heralded Director Paul Weitz this smartly made drama is diverting from start
to finish. Share the joy and turmoil of a tumultuous evening at the Van City Theatre
thanks to Red Eye Media. What’s even more surprising is the story is based on a real
event that caught Peruvian authorities by surprise in the early 1980s.
With a dazzling international cast Bel Canto takes us on an unwieldy journey.
Things start off pleasant enough when an opera loving industrialist makes plans to build
a factory in a Latin American country. Man of all seasons Ken Watanable plays cultured
Japanese industrialist Katsumi Hosakawa who has a fascination with opera singing
sensation Roxana Coss. Seasoned veteran Julianne Moore (Boogie Nights) radiates
on stage when this American performer is asked to sing at a lavish party hosted by the
country’s president. Never mind that the region is rife with poverty.
News of the elegant gala taking place at a lavish Ambassador style home
is the talk of the town. Given the divide between rich and poor in the country you can
feel the tension in the air as there is lots of pleasure with the ruling junta. During that
special night of glamour it’s not totally unexpected that a few gate crashers may want
to send their own peculiar message.
Willing to thumb their noses at the authorities a band of modern
revolutionaries descend on the palatial manner in an effort to extract demands from the
leaders. Here we see the slow-building tension unfold as the government tries to deal
with an explosive situation. Director Weitz pulls off a magical tense thriller with music
being the conduit as a safety valve to calm things down and move things forward.
Not since the classic Godfather 2 has there been such a state of siege with some mild
Commando heroics added for good measure.
Instead of being an action thriller a la Arnold or Sly Bel Canto hits all the
right notes as strange alliances are developed between the hostages and the captors
that bodes well for a potential resolution of a very turbulent situation.
Mostly in English with sleight phrases of Japanese and Spanish Bel Canto
boas5s a wonderful cast, engaging singing and a story line that is fresh and original. It’s
a must see for opera fans and followers of high stakes believable drama.
Showtimes:
Nov. 1. Thursday. 8:05 pm
Nov. 3. Saturday. 4:15 pm
Nov. 4. Sunday. 5:15 pm
Nov. 6 Tuesday 6:45 pm
Nov. 7. Wednesday 6:30 pm
Nov. 8. Thursday. 4:20 pm
TEST NO. 4: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
1. A magnifying glass is what type of lens?
a. Concave
b. Convex
2. Dead alkaline batteries bounce when you
drop them, while fully-charged ones don’t.
Duterte orders military
‘takeover’ of Customs
PRESIDENT Duterte on Sunday
night said he wants the military to “take
over” the operations of the Bureau of
Customs (BOC) until the government
is able to fully address, if not rid, the
agency of corruption.
The
President
made
the
announcement during the thanksgiving
and birthday celebration of former
Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter
Cayetano in Davao City.
“Almost all of them there have
been, in one way or the other, been
charged of corruption…This kind
of games that they are playing, dirty
games, I am forced now to ask the
Armed Forces to take over,” Duterte
said.
Duterte said he has ordered newly-
appointed Customs Commissioner Rey
Leonardo Guerrero to tap “technical
soldiers” from the Philippine Army,
Philippine Navy and Philippine Air
Force to assist the BOC while reforms
are being instituted.
Guerrero, the former AFP chief
of staff, took over the reins of the BOC
after the President yanked out former
Customs chief Isidro Lapeña who
came under fire following his office’s
failure to prevent the entry of P11
billion worth of shabu into the country.
Lapeña was “promoted” as head of
the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA), a
Cabinet position.
Duterte said soldiers will take
over the Customs’ X-ray division,
which oversees the screening of
containers and other shipments that
pass through the ports. On Thursday,
the President said members of the
Philippines Coast Guard can man the
X-ray division.
Duterte also said he was
“freezing” all section units of the BOC
and putting all department heads and
commissioners on “floating status.”
He likewise ordered all personnel of
the agency’s police and intelligence
units to report to Malacañang and
stay at a gymnasium in the Palace
compound. (D. Montemayor, Malaya)
a.
True
b.
False
3.
The observation of what astronomical event in 1919 proved the
correctness of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity and made him
a celebrity overnight?
a.
A massive black hole
b.
An exploding supernova
c.
A total solar eclipse
d.
A meteor shower
4.
In 1991, the wold’s first webcam was set up to keep an eye on
what?
Zoo cage
a.
b.
Traffic intersection
c.
Building lobby
d.
Coffee pot
5.
Which is not a system in the human body?
a.
Endocrine system
b.
Cellular system
c.
Skeletal system
d.
Nervous system
6.
The sanitized version of what most lethal substance on Earth is
widely used in cosmetic treatments?
7.
What German engineer invented, in 1982, the internal combustion
engine that now bears his name?
Scientists believe the atmosphere of Saturn and Jupiter are
8.
raining chunks of what precious gem?
What test was developed by an anesthesiologist in 1952 to quickly
9.
summarize the health of newborn babies?
According to Stephen Hawking, the full development of what
10.
branch of computer science “could spell the end of the human race”?
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